Archangel
10,000 Ft in the air
The world ebbed, and flowed into being as a dark interior filled his fiery eyes. The drab gray walls of a cargo hold, and the vast supplies of dust stored in many a metal crates. Marked as such by paint stamped onto their unfeeling skin.
"Lock, I think he's waking up" spoke a voice that pulled the disheveled man's attention, before a handful of snaps yanked his crimson gaze yet again - bringing him to lay his eyes on a white skinned man with brazen brown hair, and a dusty, battered tweed jacket.
The nicely yet shabbily dressed man smiled as his snapping came to an end.
"Rise and shine sleeping beauty".
The scarlet eyed man stared annoyingly at the man in the tweed jacket, his memories coming back to him like a rushing waterfall.
The man standing in front of him was James Lock, notorious criminal and prolific dust trafficker - a household name among law enforcement and criminals alike from Vale to Atlas.
"Tell me something uh..." James began as he pulled out what looked like the red-eyed man's wallet.
"...Jackie Velvet?" James said as he chuckled, and turned to the rest of his goons. All of whom who began to laugh, and chuckle in a discordant cacophony.
"What kind of last name is that?" one of the thugs, a man with bronze hair and a pair of curved blades strapped to his sides, asked.
"A real stupid one, that's what" the other thug, a short haired woman with a broad sword strapped to her waist, added.
"And what evenisa velvet anyway?" the bronze haired man asked as the woman looked at him with a confused expression.
Jackie's eyes flicked between the two thugs, sizing them up and taking note of their weaponry.
They were largely blades, but had gun barrels lazily hooked up - hallmarks of after market weapons made on the cheap. Nowhere near as fancy as the custom made stuff that huntsmen often carry.
"Dude, velvet is a color".
"Isn't it a cake?"
"Yes, but itsalsoa color. Infact, it was a color first".
Jackie got a feel for the binds that kept his hands tethered together behind his back, they were heavy and made of steel. Thick enough to make slipping by way of dislocated thumb impossible, but the slight rattling made it clear they were attached by chain. No doubt they were some cuffs stolen from law enforcement, probably by Valian cops given how low tech and excessively thick the cuffs themselves were.
"Well frankly,Idisagree" said the bronze haired man as he put a hand on his chest.
"Well I think your opinion's stupid" the woman replied.
"You wanna say that to my face?"
"I'm pretty sure I just did!" the woman said as she got in the other thug's face when James got in the middle.
"Knock it off, all of you".
Everyone went silent as James turned his attention back onto Jackie, "now then... where we we? Oh right, your wallet..."
Pushing down the incessant thumping that rippled across his brain, Jackie looked at the weapon that was sheathed at James's waist. A revolver in shape, but far larger than any normal revolver. Most likely incorporating some kind of blade into the design, and given its sleeker more discreet appearance - it gave James away as an ex-hunter.
'Guess the rumorsaretrue' Jackie thought as James continued to sift through Jackie's wallet.
"Oh and it seems that we've got ourselves ahunterin our midst" said James as he looked around at his underlings before turning his bronze eyes onto Jackie.
"Were it not for your license, I wouldn't have even figured that much" James said as he waved Jackie's wallet around, while gesturing to Jackie and his clothes specifically. A dark brown duster over a simple white collared shirt, paired with unsightly navy blue cargo pants.
"And where's your weapon? The one that all hunters make from when they're youngins?"
"I lost it".
All of James's men scoffed to varying degrees, while some chuckled.
"Lost it? Really?"
"Well, its more like I misplaced it. Probably in my hotel room somewhere, I think. Maybe under the bed..." Jackie said as he glanced up in thought, piecing together how much time had elapsed using vague estimations. He was likely out cold for a couple of minutes, given his past experience with losing consciousness, and given that he set the timer 5 minutes ago.
'It's almost time...' Jackie thought while smirking as he turned his gaze onto James, and said "you know what? I think I left it in myotherhotel room... yeah that's it".
James slightly smirked, "you know, it's the witty ones I love the most". He ran his fingers over his chin adding "all that banter, and charm. It makes killing them that much sweeter".
In a flash James pulled out his revolver, a 15 inch weapon with a barrel length of 6 and a barrel with a side panel that currently glowed red.
"Like swatting a fly", the gun was aimed directly at Jackie's forehead and mere inches away.
"So, any last wordsJackie?"
Jackie grinned, and replied "just one".
"Boom".
All of a sudden there was a loud explosion that rang through the air, shaking the ground and everyone on it.
"What the hell?!" James exclaimed as instinct kicked in, and he fired off a blast of fire dust but missed thanks to the tremor. The blast hitting the ceiling, and scorching the steel interior as James stumbled backwards.
Jackie meanwhile fell forward, and using his forward momentum he managed to dash forward and enter a tackle. His head meeting with James's stomach, and slamming his back against the wall.
Two other thugs charged at Jackie from either side, the man pulling out his dual blades while the woman brought up her broadsword.
Quickly, Jackie stepped back and dodged the woman's downward strike while the man moved in front of her and unleashed a flurry of slashes as the ground beneath them stabilized.
Jackie ducked beneath the first swing, and right as the second swing came down Jackie managed to swing his arms from behind his back and over his head. Just in time for the thug's blade to slice through the chains, and free Jackie from his binds.
"Ha ha!" Jackie exclaimed, much to the thug's momentary confusion.
"The hell?!"
"Now it's time to get your ass kic-"
Warning - Engine failure, losing altitude.
The entire cargo hold tilted to a sharp 40 degrees, and Jackie fell forward. Slamming into the thug and hitting the wall behind him. James would've been pancaked were it not for his quick thinking that allowed him to roll out of harms way.
"Ow, my spleen" Jackie uttered right before the side of a broadsword slammed into his face, and sent him flying to the side.
Jackie managed to land on his feet after flipping backwards using his hands to push himself off the ground, just in time to face a flurry of scarlet blasts unleashed by James. Jackie managed to dodge only 2 of the shots before the 3rd one got him. The angle of the ground making it difficult to stand upright.
The scorching blast sent Jackie back, and into the path of a broadsword swing. One with far more punch behind its strike, courtesy of a shotgun blast that added to the swing's power. Jackie hurled through the air, and slammed sideways into a dust crate. The metal absorbing Jackie's form, and warping inward.
"Ow, my kidney" Jackie muttered as the angle of the cargo hold got steeper, and gravity pulled Jackie out of the crater he'd made in the dust crate. Tumbling into a run, and leaping at the woman who faced him head on. Planting her feet on the ground, seemingly unaffected by the changing gravity.
She brought up her broadsword, and blocked a drop kick Jackie sent her way. In a second he hopped off her blade, and retaliated with a slew of kicks. All of which she managed to block, while unleashing a barrage of strikes. Then in came James who leapt into the fight, by pointing his gun behind him, switching the dust type to gravity, and firing a blast that sent him rocketing towards Jackie.
"You dumbass!" James exclaimed as his revolver transformed mid swing into a short sword, the block beneath the barrel unfolding into a blade as the handle bent back to form a hilt. He brought it down, and slashed across Jackie's entire body. The blade cackling with lightning, and sending an electrifying wave throughout Jackie's body - aura and all.
He stumbled back as James back stepped, and out of the path of a shotgun-fueled sword swing that shot Jackie back first against a wall. The force of the impact sent ripples across the wall, accompanied by a mini shockwave.
"And there goes my kidney" Jackie muttered as he felt his bones rattle, and his muscles scream.
James held onto one of the woman's arms as the other thug, the one with the dual blades, looked at Jackie and his compatriots. And decided to sit this one out.
"Are youtryingto kill us?!" James exclaimed as the angle of the cargo hold got even steeper. Turning a full 90 degrees, and pinning the blade wielding thug completely.
"No... only blew out the one engine, there's like four of them on this thing" Jackie said wearily.
"Then why?"
"It was a backup plan really. On the off chance I got caught, and I did so in hindsight it turned out great".
"You moron, this thing needs all FOUR of them to fly straight!"
Jackie blinked, and asked "seriously?"
"Yes!"
Jackie let out a tired sigh, and said "ah shit" before thinking 'I wonder if my aura could survive an airship crash'.
"You know, it would've been helpful if someone said something about this earlier".
"It's common sense! Why else would an airship have four engines?"
"Redundancy? So that this exact situation doesn't happen".
"That's... actually a really great idea, but that isn't the case so we're screwed".
Jackie let out a sigh, and thought 'if only we had parachutes' when an idea flashed into his frontal lobe. Turning on a metaphorical light bulb as he looked at James and his weapon of choice.
"What are we gonna do boss?" the woman asked as she looked at James who clung to her arm like a cat stuck in a tree.
"What else? We bail. I think I might be able to-"
James didn't get the chance to finish that sentence as Jackie flung himself into him. Latching on like a parasite, and wrapping one hand around James's wrist while shoving his other hand onto the criminal's face.
"We've got gravity girl, and useless thug. Wanna knowmysemblance?" Jackie asked as his hands glowed with a fiery red aura, right as his eyes lit up with a scarlet luminescence.
James let out a cry of pain as Jackie managed to relieve James of his weapon right as a broadsword sent Jackie flying. As he hurtled through the air, Jackie managed to switch the gun into its revolver form and unleash a barrage of fire blasts that burned a hole right through the cargo hold's interior. Creating a weak point that allowed Jackie to use his own momentum to go right through the cargo hold, and out into the frigid sky outside.
The airship descending rapidly towards the ocean below, with Jackie soon slated to join the ship. He was sure that a fall from this height, even if it was water, would probably leave him more than a little bent out of shape.
But thankfully he's got some gravity dust on hand, and so he aimed James's revolver towards the ground, switched it to gravity dust, and fired timed blasts of purple energy that sent ripples across the fabric of space-time. Warping gravity, and slowing his descent.
The gun didn't have a lot of gravity dust loaded in, so Jackie had to be careful with his timing. Careful not to overdo it, and become yet another body to add to the pile claimed by sea Grimm.
The Archangel slammed into the sea with immense force, sending massive waves rising into the air. Followed by Jackie crashing into the ocean, and making a comparatively tiny splash.
"Oh gods" Jackie exclaimed as he managed to rise up to the surface, spitting out salt water and gasping for air.
"Sounds like... a job well done..." Jackie said to himself, until he saw the large tidal wave that was headed right for him.
"I stand corrected".
The wave washed over Jackie, and sent him under. Spiraling into the sea, and getting lost in the chaos. Somehow, against all odds, Jackie wound up getting spat out onto the Valian shore. The silhouette of the Archangel slowly sinking in the distance as Jackie managed to roll onto his back, and stared at the shattered moon.
"Job well done my ass..." Jackie muttered to himself while relaxing his muscles, and taking it easy.